Any walkable, small towns near Chantilly? (Alexandria, Leesburg: neighborhood, best school districts, living in)

[klynn]

My family might relocate to Chantilly as my husband has a job prospect there. We've been living in Europe for several years and will miss the walkability of the towns we've been living in. We're somewhat familiar with NOVA, but need some recommendations for places to live. Safety and schools are high on the priority list as we have two young children. Next, we'd like to live somewhere walkable (for example, a Main Street type town with shops, restaurants, library, park, etc.) within walking distance. Finally, a good community feel is also important. A bonus would be a cute historic town...asking a lot, I know. Any suggestions for places that might check some or all of those boxes? Many thanks.

[LynchburgLover]

How far/time is your husband willing to commute? And maximum budget/style/#bedrooms etc?

[mdcrim]

Leesburg or Middleburg? Not terribly close but the commute shouldn't be unbearable.

[sullyguy]

Pull up a wide-area Google map centered at Chantilly.

Alexandria "Old Town" is walkable.

Leesburg is walkable.

Middleburg is walkable.

Clifton is walkable but there's not a whole lot of walking to do there.

Fairfax is walkable however after living JUST south of Chantilly for 25 years I've never tried walking there - perhaps the parking situation.

Georgetown (DC) is walkable. Of course, the whole mall area (Washington Monument, etc) and surrounding streets are walkable, too, as is Tenley Town and The Zoo.

Nothing is within walking distance of Chantilly, Chantilly being in the middle of the suburbs thus requiring miles of driving to get anywhere.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by klynn

Next, we'd like to live somewhere walkable (for example, a Main Street type town with shops, restaurants, library, park, etc.) within walking distance. Finally, a good community feel is also important. A bonus would be a cute historic town....

You have 100% described Middleburg, which is a 20-30 minute drive to Chantilly (assuming the job is in the office park area SW of the 50/28 interchange), this commute would be about 45 minutes at peak commute time (7:30 - 9:00).

Now, I hope you don't also want any chain stores, fast food or big box stores near your home, too.....not going to happen in Middleburg.

[hilsmom]

the closest historic town is probably Herndon, although I don't think it really hits all your requirements.

Fairfax would be next, although I think it also isn't right.

Leesburg and Middleburg are probably your best options, but properties in the historic areas might be hard to come by.

I like our neighborhood for its access to most of the amenities you mentioned within walking distance. It isn't a small town, but it feels very much like a throwback to the Brady Bunch era. We can hear the HS football games from our house, the homecoming parade goes right past our house, we can walk to the shopping center up the street to grocery shop, grab prescriptions, eat at one of the decent chain places. There are many days we do NOT get in our car. OK, probably mostly in the spring-fall - winter is much tougher just because I don't like to walk in the cold if I don't have to.

Good luck - I love the idea of a small town, too.

[klynn]

Thank you for the replies. We'd have a budget of 400-450K, 3-4 bedrooms. We're not terribly picky on style of home...location is more important. Middleburg looks charming as does Leesburg. I'll have to do some research.

[klynn]

A quick search for Middleburg schools makes it look like they aren't very good. As a prior public school teacher, I'd like to be able to send my children to a highly regarded public school. Anyone know if Middleburg is as bad as it seems? (I know from experience that test scores don't necessarily indicate quality schools, but do generally show trends.)

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by klynn

A quick search for Middleburg schools makes it look like they aren't very good. As a prior public school teacher, I'd like to be able to send my children to a highly regarded public school. Anyone know if Middleburg is as bad as it seems? (I know from experience that test scores don't necessarily indicate quality schools, but do generally show trends.)

I do not have children, so I'm not looking to debate anyone on the quality of schools here, but Blue Ridge Middle schools and Loudoun Valley HS both get a 9 on Greatschools.com. From what I read here, many people place a lot of value in those rankings. Middleburg Elementary only received a 6, but I think it is important to note that the current enrollment is 50 kids in the whole school. I can't imagine any child not receiving the attention they need with such small enrollment.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by klynn

Thank you for the replies. We'd have a budget of 400-450K, 3-4 bedrooms. We're not terribly picky on style of home...location is more important. Middleburg looks charming as does Leesburg. I'll have to do some research.

Walkable, historic, the best school districts, at least 3 bedrooms...and your budget is 450K? You will have to compromise somewhere.